Wild mushroom ravioli

Wattleseed adds nuttiness to these mushroom ravioli, which are great to make in advance and keep in the freezer.

• serves

  4

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Mushroom ravioli is always a winner in my house. I find it very relaxing to make. You don’t need any fancy pasta rollers, just a rolling pin. I find that making ravioli at home really does get the kids involved – they enjoy making them with you. It’s a really good way to sneak in extra vegetables too. The kids don’t even know they’re eating mushrooms because it tastes so good! I love to add wattleseeds. Their nuttiness enhances the mushrooms in every dish I make at home. This is a recipe you can make in advance, pop in the freezer (it will keep for 3–6 months frozen) and pull out anytime you need a quick meal.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain (all-purpose) or 00 flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tbsp ground wattleseed
• 3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup (125 g) unsalted butter
• 6 sage leaves
• pinch of sea salt

Filling

• ⅓ cup (80 g) unsalted butter
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ leek, white part only, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 cups sliced Swiss brown mushrooms
• 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms, plus extra whole (small) mushrooms for garnishing, if desired
• 2 portobello mushrooms, sliced dash of olive oil
• 1 tbsp ground wattleseed
• ½ tsp dried saltbush
• 4 thyme sprigs
• pinch of ground pepperberry
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• ⅓ cup (100 g) ricotta

Resting time: 40 minutes total (the filling can be made while during the second resting stage)

Instructions

1. Pile the flour and wattleseed onto a clean bench. Using your hands or a spoon, create a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Pour the whole eggs and yolk into the centre of the well. Using a whisk, slowly fold the eggs into the flour until a dough forms. Do not knead.
2. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and rest for 10 minutes. Knead the dough for 2 minutes, then cover again for 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion, leek and garlic for a few minutes, or until softened. Add all the sliced mushrooms, a handful at a time, with a good dash of oil. Sauté until they have a bit of colour (but make sure they aren’t simmering in their own liquid – see hints). Add the wattleseed, saltbush, thyme, pepperberry and salt. Transfer the mixture to a blender. Add the parmesan and ricotta and blitz until a chunky paste forms. Set aside to cool.
4. Cut the dough into four pieces. Dust the bench and your hands with flour, then working with one piece at a time (cover the remaining dough), roll out the dough until it’s so thin you start to see through it, flipping the dough each time you roll. Continue until each piece is 40–45 cm in length. Cut each sheet horizontally into two smaller sheets (so you have eight sheets in total).
5. Place eight 1-tablespoon dollops of filling along each sheet, keeping about two finger lengths apart. Fold over the sheet. Press down firmly between each dollop to enclose the filling. Cut the sheets into squares between each dollop. As you work, place the ravioli on baking paper dusted with flour and cover with a clean tea towel (dish towel) to prevent them from drying out.
6. Cook the ravioli in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 5–6 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pasta), or until they float to the top. Drain.
7. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat with the sage and a pinch of sea salt and sauté for 90 seconds, or until the butter is brown. If using extra shiitake mushrooms to garnish, sauté these in some butter too.
8. To serve, drizzle the sage butter over the ravioli.

Hints

When sautéing the mushrooms, make sure you have a lot of butter and oil on hand and give them space to cook in the pan. You don’t want them simmering in their liquid and going grey. They should be nice and crispy. Doing them in batches helps you get a nice brownness on them. You’ll also have less liquid when blitzing the filling into a thick puree.

This is an edited extract from Native Ingredients Every Day by Nornie Bero (Hardie Grant Books). Photography by Rochelle Eagle.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.